Makoto and the True Mermaid Mother
by IK161718
Summary: This story is about a little orphaned boy who gets turned into a merboy by an older mermaid. She then adopts him as her son. The story's theme is about how an adoptive mother can be a child's real mother in a sense. A cute, charming, and endearing short story. Rated T for casual nudity like most of my stories are.


Makoto and the True Mermaid Mother

Beneath the ocean, many mermaid villages exist. Many of them are scattered across the ocean and the denizens of these villages help each other out in one way or another. A beautiful young mermaid was at a large underwater park and she was sitting on a coral bench relaxing. She had medium length navy blue hair, orange eyes, porcelain white skin, and a violet scaly fish tail. Her name was Lynn and she was sitting on the coral bench watching another mermaid play with her merboy. She smiled as she watched them play but her smile also contained a hint of sadness and she felt empty inside as well. Lynn wished that she had a merboy of her very own despite the fact that mermaids giving birth to merboys was uncommon. In fact, mermaids outnumber mermen by a lot. Lynn was a bit of a tough mermaid despite being quite beautiful and there were some mermen who were a bit scared of her. She could also be scary when angry, especially when it came to protecting those she cared about. Her job under the ocean was to help the other mermaids hunt for food and also to teach future generations how to hunt. She got up from her bench and swam home to her grotto that she shared with her younger sister Turquoise and her daughter Pearl. Their grotto was fairly large and had a number of clam shell beds in it. It also had a large stone table with bowls on it for eating seafood and sea vegetation. When Lynn arrived, Turquoise gave her older sister a worried look. "Lynn what's wrong" Turquoise asked. Turquoise had long sea green hair, blue eyes, pale skin and a tail color that matched her hair. "Oh nothing Turquoise, I was just at the park watching another mermaid play with her child" Lynn replied. "Were you jealous Lynn" Turquoise inquired. "A little, it makes me wish I found a mate sooner" Lynn said with a forlorn expression upon her face. Turquoise got close to her sister and gave her a hug. "Don't worry Lynn, you'll find a mate or a child when you least expect it" Turquoise stated. "I hope your right" Lynn answered. A mergirl who looked like a younger carbon copy of Turquoise swam up to Lynn and tackle hugged her. "Hi Auntie Lynn" the mergirl screamed. "You've got me to share with mom" the mergirl exclaimed. Lynn looked at her and smiled. "You're right Pearl, but I'd still like a child of my own one day" Lynn remarked. The trio of mermaids ate a bountiful seafood salad consisting of kelp and krill. Later that day, Lynn left the grotto but Turquoise was right outside as if she was expecting her to exit the grotto. "Going for your afternoon swim" Turquoise inquired. "Yes I am Turquoise" Lynn responded. "Okay then, have fun big sis and don't get tangled up in any fisherman's nets" Turquoise laughed. Lynn smiled and left the grotto to go for her afternoon swim.

At the same time that day. A young boy with shoulder length black hair, red eyes, white skin, and a healthy stature for a seven year old boy was running through the woods. His name was Makoto and he was wearing dark robes as he was bolting through the woods. He ran through the woods until he ended up at a secluded beach. "Pant, Pant, Pant!" "I lost em, they're not gonna take me back to no orphanage now" Makoto exclaimed. Makoto's parents had died of an illness recently and he was uncertain about whether or not he'd be adopted right away. His parents were also only children and his grandparents had been long gone. Makoto was taken to an orphanage after his parents passed but did a runner after about five days of residency there. He walked up to the beach and took a good look off in the distance and saw a port town. "I'll go there and find a new life for myself in that big port town" Makoto said and walked along the beach in the direction of the port town. Thirty minutes later, Makoto arrived at the port town after a lot of walking. He took a big whiff of the salty ocean aroma that flowed throughout the town and the sea breeze blew through his raven black hair. Makoto loved the smell of port towns and always made sure to take in the ocean air whenever he visited with his mother and father. Makoto then spotted a large fishing boat off in the distance. The boat looked magnificent for a fishing vessel and read S.S. Marlin on it in dark blue paint. "Hmmmm, they probably won't let me on so how am I gonna get on without being seen" Makoto asked himself. Makoto then spotted some burly men loading up some of the barrels onto the boat. "Ah-ha" Makoto screamed. He waited patiently until no one was looking and then stowed himself away in one of the barrels. It was quite an easy feat for Makoto to put himself in a barrel due to his small size. Luckily, there was just a hint of fishy smell in the barrel but Makoto didn't mind that. Sometimes, he thought he was a merman in a past life due to not minding fishy smells or salty sea breezes. Makoto felt the barrel being lifted up by one of the ship's crew members and Makoto knew that his plan and succeeded and he was surprised that no one noticed that the barrel was a bit heavier for some reason. The crew member that was carrying it probably thought that it was a heavy barrel of fish. Makoto felt the boat moving forward and dozed of ready to start a new life wherever the boat took him.

A few hours later. One of the crew members was inspecting the barrels and found Makoto sleeping inside. "Oi, Oi, Oi!" "Look at this boys, we got us a little stowaway" One of the crew members shouted. The other crew members gathered around and saw Makoto sleeping peacefully inside the barrel. "What we reckon we do with em" One of the crew members questioned. "Bring him and the barrel to captain Marlin's quarters." "He'll decided what to do with him" another crew member finished. The crew brought Makoto and the barrel to Captain Marlin's quarters to decide Makoto's fate. "Hey, what are you scallywags doing in my quarters" Captain Marlin asked. Captain Marlin was a very well built man of the sea. He was tall, had burly facial hair that would make a lumberjack look jealous, and was wearing typical seafaring clothing despite being the captain of a fishing boat. "We got us a stowaway in one of the barrels captain" A crew member stated. Captain Marlin looked in the barrel and saw Makoto sleeping inside it. "Well, isn't he a pretty little boy, what's a kid like him doing sleeping in a barrel" Marlin asked. Marlin gently removed Makoto from the barrel and placed him on a comfy looking chair. "Oi Captain, what are we gonna do with the runt" A crew member asked. "We'll let him sleep and then have him explain himself when he awakens" Marlin replied. "Don't wanna disturb the little fella's slumber." "He seems to have had a long day, judging by the fact that he was found sleeping in a barrel" Marlin remarked.

A half hour later, Makoto awoke from his sleep and found Captain Marlin staring at him. "Mmmm, good morning mister" Makoto said groggily. His eyes were only half open as he looked at Captain Marlin. "G'day lad, what were you doing sleeping in one of my barrels" Marlin inquired. "I was trying to get passage to a ship but I didn't have a ticket or anything else so I stowed away in a barrel" Makoto answered but was still a bit sleepy. "Why did you go to such trouble to so something like that" Marlin asked. Makoto explained to Marlin what happened since he escaped from the orphanage staff. "Sounds like you've had it really rough boy" Marlin commented. "Y-yeah, I h-have" Makoto stuttered and looked rather gloomy. Marlin then got to Makoto's level to speak with him better "Tell you what boy, if you do some work for me on the boat, I'll take you to someone I know and they'll take good care of ya" Marlin said and continued. "That should ease yer anxiety on not being adopted eh" Marlin finished. "Y-yes, it does." "Thank you Mr. Marlin, I'll work as hard as I possibly can until then" Makoto rejoiced. He looked happier than before. "Glad we've come to an understating boy" Marlin said. "The name's Captain Marlin, What's yers boy" Marlin asked. "My name's Makoto, it's nice to meet you Captain Marlin" Makoto responded. "Makoto, that's a nice name" Marlin sated. "The voyage will take us about four days so I'll get you acclimated with your duties on the ship" Marlin said and showed Makoto around his boat.

Three days later. It was the day before the S.S. Marlin would arrive at its destination. The day appeared to be nice looking with a clear starry sky but fate had something else in store. Makoto worked as hard as he could on the boat. Some of his duties were scrubbing the deck, delivering lunches to the crew members, and helping the cook peel potatoes. Makoto didn't mind any of these tasks and felt good that he was being useful to someone else. He was also grateful that the captain didn't outright throw him off the boat and into an orphanage. Makoto then went to the deck of the ship to look at the starry sky when he was told he could take a break from his duties. He stared at the sky for a long time and inhaled the salty sea air. "Mmmmm, smells good" Makoto rejoiced. "I'd have never got to smell this air if I were trapped in an orphanage" Makoto added. "Maybe you'll be a seafaring man when you grow up little Makoto" Marlin interjected. Marlin sat next to Makoto and looked at the starry sky with him. He even sang songs of the sea to Makoto and told him some ocean legends such as ones about the fabled and beautiful merfolk. Makoto enjoyed these songs and tales and was happy to be on the boat with the crew.

At the same time, Lynn was taking an evening swim. She spotted the S.S. Marlin and swam up to it. She saw Makoto off in the distance and found him very cute. Lynn also wondered if Marlin was his father or not because of the way they were interacting. As Lynn was pondering this, a group of storm clouds suddenly approached. The ocean started to become violent and the boat was rocked by the large waves. Marlin tried to hold on to Makoto as best he could but his grip of the boy slipped and Makoto fell into the ocean. Marlin wanted to go after the boy but the waves were too violent and it was too dark out to see Makoto's body. Makoto began to sink to bottom of the ocean. A womanly figure swam up to the sinking boy and brought him to the closest beach she could think of. When the storm subsided, Marlin felt bad that Makoto was lost to the ocean but somehow knew he was saved by someone or something. Marlin though that perhaps a mermaid was nearby and saved the little boy's life. The S.S. Marlin continued to its destination without Makoto.

Makoto awoke to a familiar sight. He was at the beach that he walked on a few days ago. Makoto then noticed that Lynn staring at him from behind some rocks. "Hey, who are you" Makoto inquired. "I won't let you take me back to the orphanage, I won't" Makoto screamed. He had a hint of fear and sadness in his voice as he was yelling at the woman. "Orphanage, what's that?" "I have no intention of taking you to a place you don't like child" Lynn responded. "Show yourself then" Makoto demanded. "Are you sure dear, it might be too much for a human boy of your age" Lynn stated. "Yes I'm sure" Makoto replied. Lynn came out from behind the rocks and revealed her whole body. She wasn't wearing an article of clothing and her violet tail shined in the sun as she flopped her flippers up and down. Makoto covered his eyes at the sight of her nude form and her striking feminine figure. He kept one eye open and parted his fingers so he could get a better look at her. "Hey, put some clothes or at least a shell top miss mermaid" Makoto shouted. "Clothes?" "Why would a mermaid need such silly things" Lynn questioned while she was trying to figure out what this shell top was. "Don't mermaids wear clothes" Makoto asked. "No dear, none of us do" Lynn said. Makoto found that she could be trusted but still approached her cautiously. "U-um miss mermaid, can I touch your tail" Makoto stammered. "Certainly" Lynn answered. Makoto then petted her long scaly tail. It was surprisingly smooth for having so many scales on it. "What's your name miss mermaid" Makoto inquired. "My name is Lynn, how about you little cutie" Lynn asked and giggled. "My name's Makoto, it's nice to meet you Lynn" Makoto said in a shy manner. "Why were you on that boat Makoto" Lynn asked. Makoto explained his story to Lynn thus far. "Oh, so that's why you were going on about the orf-un-age" Lynn remarked. A light bulb then appeared above Lynn's head as she was processing Makoto's story. Mermaids and merman were able to command powerful magic and one of these abilities was being able to change humans into merfolk permanently. Her sister was right, she would find what she was looking for when she least expected it. "I've got a deal for you Makoto" Lynn declared. "How would you like to become my son" Lynn inquired and looked at Makoto expectantly. "R-really, you mean it?" "I'd like having a mermaid as a mom a whole lot" Makoto rejoiced. "But how are you gonna take care of me, y'know with the tail and all" Makoto asked and looked quite confused. "Oh that's not a problem, c'mere little one and sit on my lap" Lynn said and Makoto did just that. "Now, I'm only going to give you this kiss once and the rest will be on your cheeks or forehead okay" Lynn inquired. Makoto simply nodded in a manner that meant yes. "You'll become a merman permanently is that also okay" Lynn added. Makoto also nodded yes to this question. "Alright then sweetie, say hello to your new life" Lynn said in a soothing voice. She then kissed Makoto square on the lips and Makoto felt a shock throughout his entire body.

At first, Makoto didn't feel any different but then he rubbed his one of his legs and saw shiny red fish scales appearing on them. He took of his clothes while Lynn assisted him in doing so. Makoto was completely naked and looked at his legs in awe as the red scales spread down his legs. His feet then became flat and fin like and the toes simply ceased to be. The most painful part was when his legs began to merge into a bright red mermaid tail. He let out a painful cry as his legs merged together. Makoto was no longer a human by but he was now a merboy. His new tail flopped up and down weakly and tears streamed down his face because of how his legs had merged together. Lynn looked at the new merboy and began to comfort him. "What's wrong little one, why are you crying" Lynn asked and looked at Makoto's teary eyed face. "T-t-that hurt" Makoto sobbed and weakly flopped his new tail up and down. "I'm sorry dear, I should have warned you in advance" Lynn said and hugged Makoto close to her. She petted him and gently stroked his black hair. "Shh, shh, shh." "It's over now dear, it won't happen again" Lynn cooed as she continued to pet the little merboy. Makoto then looked up at her. "What'll happen to me now Miss Lynn" Makoto asked. "I told you, you'll become my son and I'll be your mother" Lynn told him. "O-okay" Makoto said. "U-u-um, do you think you could carry me to your home, I'm not used to my new tail yet" Makoto asked as he continued to flop his tail up and down weakly. "Of course little guppy" Lynn responded. She then drug herself back to the ocean with Makoto in tow. She swam into the ocean and held Makoto tightly as she swam to her home.

When the pair got close to the village that Lynn resided in, Lynn decided to let go of Makoto. She felt that it was time to give him a small swimming lesson since he would be living and swimming underwater for the rest of his life. Lynn distanced herself about three to five feet from Makoto. "It's time for a small swimming lesson dear" Lynn said. "I want you to try and swim over to me." "Just swish your tail up and down and move forward sweetie" Lynn instructed as she held out her arms for a hug. Makoto tried his best to swim over to his adoptive mother but struggled as he did so because he was having quite a bit of trouble getting used to this new limb that replaced his legs. "H-h-how was that" Makoto panted. "That was good for the first time dear" Lynn told him and tossled his hair as she held him. "It's only natural to move your tail like that." "You've been a human for most of your life so it'll be like learning to walk again" Lynn stated. "Get in front of me Makoto, I've got another method for teaching you how to swim" Lynn said. Makoto swam in front of her and Lynn gently grabbed both of his arms. "Now I want you to move your tail up and down while I hold you in place" Lynn told Makoto. Makoto moved his tail up and down in a swimming motion while Lynn held him in place. Makoto stopped moving his tail up and down after about ten minutes so Lynn let him go. "You ready to go into the village" Lynn asked. "Y-yes Miss Lynn" Makoto replied. "You don't need to address me as Miss Lynn, just call me mom okay" Lynn said. Makoto nodded and the pair swam into the village.

The pair arrived in the village that Lynn lived in. The village was medium sized and had many coral structures and grottos. Many mermaids were going about their daily activities and saw the pair approaching the village. There were many mermaids and mergirls that stared at Lynn and the new little merboy in the village. Makoto tugged on Lynn's arm and looked a little worried. "Mom, those smaller mermaids are staring at me" Makoto said and pointed at the mergirls. "Maybe they like you dear" Lynn teased. Makoto simply blushed at this comment. "C'mon, we can talk to them later." "You must be hungry after that long day honey" Lynn said in a soothing way. Lynn led Makoto to a large grotto that she resided in with her younger sister and niece. Pearl and Turquoise were waiting at the entrance to the grotto and were surprised to see a little merboy swimming with Lynn. "Hey big sis, who's that cute little merboy you got with you" Turquoise questioned. Makoto tried to hide behind Lynn. "He's my adoptive son and his name's Makoto." "I found him on the beach and he used to be a human boy until I saved him from drowning" Lynn answered and noticed Makoto hiding behind her. "Don't be shy little one" Lynn said. "These two are part of your new family." "The bigger mermaid is my younger sister Turquoise and the younger one is her daughter Pearl" Lynn explained. "You're around Pearl's age so I'm sure you two will get along just fine." Pearl swam right up to Makoto. "Hi, I'm Pearl and I'm gonna be your sister of sorts." "How old are you anyway" Pearl asked. Makoto held up seven fingers and shyly uttered "seven." "Well I'm eight years old so that means I'm one year older than you" Pearl told him. The two merkids interacted with one another and Makoto answered Pearl's questions to the best of his ability. Both of the mother's approached the merkids. "Pearl, why don't you take Makoto to your room to play for a bit while Lynn and I prepare lunch" Turquoise suggested. "We'll call you two when lunch is ready" Lynn added. "That sounds like a great idea" Pearl squealed and drug Makoto by the arm into her bedroom. "Well, I guess it's time for us to make lunch for all of us then" Lynn said. "Yeah let's" Turquoise replied.

Lynn and Turquoise went into the kitchen area to prepare lunch for everyone. "That Makoto sure is a little cutie pie" Turquoise told Lynn. "Yeah, he is." "I'm so glad that I was in the right place at the right time" Lynn said. "I'm sure he appreciates what you did for him" Turquoise stated and smiled. The two mermaids continued to make lunch and created a big stone plate that had clams, krill, seaweed, and shrimp on it. Meanwhile, Pearl and Makoto were playing in Pearl's room and sitting on her bed together. Pearl looked Makoto straight in the eyes and got ready for a conversation. "Hey Makoto, do you like my Auntie Lynn" Pearl inquired. "Yeah I do, she's really nice" Makoto answered. Pearl got out some reading material and came back to the bed. "I'll read this to you if you want" Pearl said. "I'd like that" Makoto replied. Pearl opened up a large book that looked like some sort of fairytale book. Makoto looked inside and saw some very odd symbols in it. "What are those symbols in the book" Makoto asked. "Oh those are mermish symbols." "You'll learn about them when you start going to school" Pearl explained and continued. "We also speak this language too but we tend to speak that human language called English as well" Pearl finished. Pearl tried to read the story book to Makoto but had some troubles when she was trying to read it. "I'm sorry Makoto, it looks like I haven't learned about some of these symbols yet" Pearl said and sounded disappointed. "It's okay, maybe Aunt Turquoise or Mom can read it to both of us some time" Makoto noted. "Yeah, that sounds like a good idea." "They both have really soothing reading voices" Pearl chirped. "Pearl, Makoto!" "Lunch is ready" Lynn shouted. "Oooh Lunch!" Pearl squealed. She and Makoto headed into the dining room area and sat down together with Lynn and Turquoise sitting across from them. "Eat up you two, there's plenty for everyone" Lynn told them. Makoto grabbed a few pieces of shrimp and some clams and began to eat. He didn't think much of seafood when he was living in the human world but now it tasted like the best thing he ever ate and even ate all of his clams. "Wow, looks like someone was hungry" Lynn noted. "I bet you didn't have food this good at that orphanage place." Makoto looked a little sad. "No I didn't, we had to share the food and I never got enough" Makoto lamented. "Well there's plenty of seafood here under the ocean" Lynn said. "So eat up." Pearl looked curious about the orphanage that Lynn and Makoto mentioned. "Hey Aunt Lynn, what's an orf-un-age" Pearl inquired. "It's some sort of terrible place that human children go to when they don't have any parents" Lynn answered. "Oh, that does sound terrible" Pearl said. "Us mermaids take care of merkids who don't have parents and integrate them into our families" Turquoise interjected. "That's why we don't know what these orphanages are" Turquoise added. "That's nice to know" Makoto said. Everyone continued their lunches but Makoto looked like he was half asleep by the time he finished his seafood lunch. He had his hands over his stomach and looked like he was ready to fall asleep. "Awwww, it looks like Makoto's starting to go into a food coma" Lynn said. "I'll take him to sleep in my bed." "Aren't you going hunting today" Turquoise asked. "I was going to but I'm going to take the day off to take care of Makoto" Lynn replied. "Very well then, I'll take Pearl out to play" Turquoise said. Turquoise and Pearl left to play for the day while Lynn stayed at their grotto to care for Makoto. She picked up the little merboy and carried him to the large clamshell bed that was in a room that Lynn and turquoise both shared and gently placed Makoto on one of the two clamshell beds that was hers.

A few hours later. Lynn watched over Makoto as he slept on her bed. He looked quite peaceful as he slept on her bed. He also looked more and more adorable as he slept on her bed. Although adopting him wasn't quite the same as having him grow inside of her, Lynn made a promise that she would love and care for Makoto as if she was his birth mother. She knew that she would never ever break this promise to herself. Lynn noticed that Makoto was stirring in his sleep. He was tossing and turning, something was amiss. "No, No, No, Please don't take me" Makoto mumbled and kept calling for Lynn. "M-Makoto, are you okay" Lynn stammered and swam over to his side. "Please, I don't wanna go to a circus." "Let me go" Makoto screamed and he sounded distressed. "Mom" Makoto wailed and he suddenly awoke. He was panting and breathing in a fast manner. Lynn sat right next to him on the back and gently rubbed his back. "Makoto, what's wrong dear" Lynn asked and looked quite worried. "I-I-I h-h-had a bad dream where I caught in a net and I was sold to a circus." "The children of the orphanage were there and they just laughed and pointed at me because I looked different" Makoto sobbed. Lynn hugged the little merboy tightly. "Shhh, you're okay, your mom's a strong mermaid." "She'd never let anything like that happen to you" Lynn cooed. She petted her little merboy and softly ran her fingers through his hair. "You have to listen to me and follow some simple rules so something like that doesn't happen okay" Lynn told him. "O-o-okay" Makoto stuttered. "Don't swim up to the surface when it's daytime or humans will see you" Lynn stated. "Also, stay far away from human ships so don't try and touch the butt" Lynn added and Makoto simply giggled. "Danger can also exist under the sea as well so don't wander into dark caves without an adult because you never know what kinds of creatures are hiding in those dark underwater caves" Lynn finished. "O-okay, those sound like pretty easy rules to remember" Makoto said. "Good, I'm glad you understand them" Lynn told him. "I'm getting pretty sleepy myself so scoot over a little for mom okay" Lynn requested. "You can sleep next to me in my bed for a while until we get you a bed of your own okay" Lynn said and Makoto just nodded. Makoto scooted over and Lynn lied down on the bed and gently held Makoto in her arms. Makoto slept soundly that night and felt safe in the grasp of his adoptive mother. Lynn thought of the many happy days ahead that she'd be able to share with Makoto. She thought of the various activities ahead such as teaching him how to hunt, teaching him various skills for underwater living, and just having a good time with her little merboy. Lynn also wanted to take him to the coral reef park at some point in the near future because it was one of her favorite places to be. "I love you Makoto" Lynn whispered before falling into slumber. Turquoise and Pearl arrived home a few minutes later and saw Makoto and Lynn sleeping peacefully on Lynn's bed. They got into their beds and went to sleep as well.

The next morning. "Good morning my sleepy little guppy" Lynn whispered. Makoto woke up and found that he was sleeping next to Lynn. He was happy that the events of the past few days were not just a dream. Makoto confirmed this further by looking at his shiny red tail flopping up and down slowly. "I think red fins are a good color for you dear" Lynn told him. Makoto then looked at his mother as if he wanted to ask a question. "Makoto, what is it sweetie" Lynn asked. "Mom, am I gonna be a merboy forever" Makoto questioned. "Yes Makoto, you'll be a merboy forever." "Mermaid magic might be powerful but I don't think it can turn transformed merfolk back into humans, unless there is some powerful land magic that can do that job" Lynn finished. "Good because I wanna be a merboy forever and stay with you for as long as I want to" Makoto told her. Lynn blushed at this statement and put on a large smile. She also looked as if she was about to shed tears of happiness from Makoto's statement. "What's wrong mom" Makoto asked. "Nothing dear, I'm just so happy" Lynn rejoiced and hugged Makoto tenderly. "C'mon sweetie, let's get some breakfast to eat" Lynn said and the pair headed to the dining room to get some seafood to eat. Lynn and Makoto arrived at the dining room table and saw that Turquoise and Pearl were already eating. "Morning you two, did you both have a good sleep" Turquoise asked. "Yes we did" Lynn replied and sat down at the table. Makoto sat down as well with a plate of clams and kelp. "You really like those huh" Lynn said. "Yes I do" Makoto answered. The four merfolk ate and chatted at the table until everyone finished their breakfasts. "I'm going to take Makoto out and show him around the village and maybe even get him enrolled at the school okay" Lynn said. "Alright you two, have fun" Turquoise responded. "C'mon Makoto, I'm going to show you around the village now" Lynn stated. "Alright, that sounds like fun" Makoto answered. Lynn grabbed a medium sized purse before she left for the village with Makoto in tow. Turquoise and Pearl watched as the pair left the grotto. "You think Makoto's gonna like living under the sea with us" Pearl asked and looked up at her mother. "I'm sure he'll love living under the sea with us" Turquoise replied. The two mermaids looked at each other and smiled knowing that they'll have a lot of good times ahead of them.

Lynn and Makoto arrived in the village square and Lynn saw a group of adult mermaids interacting with one another in the square. Lynn noted that these mermaids were mermoms because they had some younger mermaids next to them. She swam up to them and then got to the mergirl's level. "Hey girls, this is my adopted son Makoto." "He's new here so do you think you can make him feel at home here" Lynn asked. The three mergirls agreed and dragged Makoto over to a different part of the village where their moms could see them. "Play nice with him okay" Lynn told them. Lynn then went over to interact with the mermoms. "Hey ladies, I just adopted my son Makoto a day ago." "Do you think you could give me some advice on how to raise a child" Lynn asked. "I've been doing this as I go so far but some info about raising a child would help as well" Lynn added. The mermoms were more than happy to help out a fellow mermaid and told Lynn some pieces of advice such as to make sure he gets plenty of food, exercise, and rest, don't push him too hard, and teach him things slowly since he was just transformed. They also added to raise him in a way that felt natural to Lynn or take care of him in a way that she wanted to be taken care of. Lynn listened quite well and took mental notes of all of things the mermoms told her. Lynn looked over and saw that Makoto was having a good time with the three mergirls. She saw that he was answering all their questions to the best of his ability and was curious about which of the three mergirls he would choose. She then saw that Makoto sat down on a bench with a mergirl who had orange hair, freckles, green eyes, and a green tail. The other two mergirls watched as they interacted with one another. "Oooh, looks like your little boy has chosen my little girl" One of the mermoms said. "Yeah, it's so sweet seeing merkids interact like this" Lynn noted. "I hope the other mergirls don't get too jealous" Lynn quipped. The mermoms and Lynn giggled as Lynn said this.

After around fifteen minutes of chatting it up with the mermoms, Lynn swam over to see how Makoto was doing. "Having a good time dear" Lynn asked. "Yes mom, I'm having a wonderful time" Makoto chimed. "The mergirls are really, really nice" Makoto said. "I'm glad that you're having a good time dear" Lynn replied. "You ready to see another part of the village" Lynn asked. "Yes I am" Makoto answered. He got up from the bench and joined his mother. "Bye girls" Makoto said and they waved at him. The freckle faced mergirl simply blew a kiss at him to which Makoto blushed. He then looked to his mother. "Where to next mom" Makoto inquired. "The next place to see is the market place" Lynn responded. "C'mon let's go." The pair swam over to the market place but Makoto had something else on his mind and had that I have a question look on his face. "What is it Makoto" Lynn questioned. "Mom, where are all the mermen." "I don't think I saw any adult mermen or merboys who were my age" Makoto told Lynn. "Are they all out hunting" Makoto asked. "Well, most of the time the mermen would hunt but mermaids can hunt too" Lynn responded. "There's always been a lot more mermaids than mermen though." "I don't know why" Lynn said. "That means that you should have no trouble finding a mermaid to be your mate when the time comes" Lynn teased and Makoto simply blushed. "Oh, okay." "Thanks for answering my questions mom" Makoto beamed. "You're welcome sweetie, ask me any questions that you have and I'll be more than happy to answer them" Lynn said. "Okay then" Makoto smiled and the two headed to the market place.

The two of them arrived at the market place and saw many merfolk interacting with the various vendors that were present. "Mom, what exactly do mermaids need to buy" Makoto inquired. "We mostly buy food for ourselves but we also like to buy jewelry as well since mermaids love to look pretty" Lynn replied. Makoto and Lynn headed over to a food vendor and Makoto saw a medium sized red lobster. His mouth salivated a bit as he looked at it. "You want that" Lynn asked. "I've got enough." "Enough of what" Makoto asked. Lynn pulled out some small round objects out of her purse. "Here's some pearls honey" Lynn said. "We pay for stuff with these since they're everywhere under the sea" Makoto asked and looked at the pearls in his hands. "Yes we do but sometimes we barter with the goods we already have to get other goods" Lynn informed him. "That sounds neat" Makoto replied. He then went over to the vendor that was peddling seafood and bought the medium sized lobster he was looking at. "Go ahead and eat it dear" Lynn said. "I think I might have hunted one like that during one of my hunts" Lynn added. "Thanks mom" Makoto told her and ate his lobster. When the two of them were done exploring the marketplace, Makoto looked at Lynn curiously. "Where to next mom" Makoto questioned. "Next I'll take you to the school" Lynn answered. "What kinds of things do mermaids learn at school mom" Makoto inquired. "Simple math, how to live underwater, mermaid history, mermish and English, and if you're really skilled, magic" Lynn explained. "I teach the older mermaids how to hunt so they can provide our village with food" Lynn told him. "We'll go to the school so I can get you enrolled today" Lynn said. Makoto nodded and the duo headed to the school.

Makoto and his mother arrived at the Merfolk School and it was quite a spectacle to behold. "Wow, I get to learn stuff there" Makoto asked in amazement. "You sure do" Lynn replied. "The mergirls attend this school as well so you'll get to see them a lot more often now" Lynn noted. "Come, let's go on inside and see Elizabeth the head mistress" Lynn said. Lynn and Makoto swam over to the school and headed inside. The school was a large coral structure and looked just as good inside as it did outside. Lynn and Makoto headed to the Elizabeth's office to get Makoto enrolled. "Hello Lynn, what can I do for you and that cute little merboy today" Elizabeth inquired as she gave Makoto a look of adoration. She had long black hair, green eyes, light skin, and a long white mermaid tail that had blue flukes on the end of it. "I'd like to get Makoto enrolled at this school" Lynn stated. "I adopted him yesterday and I'd like to get him enrolled her so he can learn more about our world" Lynn admitted. She then told Elizabeth how she encountered Makoto and Elizabeth was pleasantly surprised to learn that Makoto was once a human boy. "Well it seems our little merboy has had quite an exciting past few days huh" Elizabeth said. "He sure has" Lynn replied. Lynn and Elizabeth got everything taken care of so that Makoto could start school next week. "Thanks for everything Elizabeth" Lynn told her. "It's my pleasure, I hope Makoto has a good time here" Elizabeth responded. "Oh I'm sure he will" Lynn chimed. "Thank you Miss Elizabeth" Makoto said and bowed. Elizabeth simply blushed and smiled as he did this. "You're welcome little one" Elizabeth answered. Lynn and Makoto left the head mistresses office and departed the school. "Makoto, there's one more place I'd like to take you before we head home okay" Lynn told him. "I'm fine with that mom, let's go there" Makoto said. Lynn swam towards her favorite coral reef park and Makoto followed close behind her.

Lynn and Makoto reached the coral reef park and the two of them sat down on a coral reef bench. Lynn looked Makoto straight in the eyes. "Makoto, I know that this must be difficult for you suddenly becoming a merboy and starting a brand new life under the ocean but you're not too astounded by all of these things you need to learn are you" Lynn questioned. "No, not at all mom, I'm actually glad this happened to me" Makoto replied. A large smiled donned on Lynn's face and she blushed. "Makoto, there's something else I'd like to tell you" Lynn declared. "What's that mom" Makoto answered. "I may not be the mother who gave birth to you but I will care for you as if I had" Lynn said and continued. "I'll do my best to not let anything bad befall you, I won't let you suffer or be in great pain, and I'll never ever stop loving you and that's a promise from me to you" Lynn finished. Makoto was simply awestruck at his adoptive mother's kind words and promises. He then swam onto her lap and gave her the biggest hug he could. "Y-you really are my mom" Makoto cheered. "I love you so much" Makoto told her as he continued to hug her. A single tear of happiness then fell from his eye while he was hugging her. "I love you too Makoto and I promise that you'll have a wonderful life with me under the ocean" Lynn replied as she gently embraced her young son. The sun filtered through the ocean as if it were shining on the both of them. It was as if the world was saying: Look forward to the bright future ahead you two, it's gonna be magnificent.

Fin

12


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